New Glenn rocket exploded during static-fire test
Infrasonic waves from the blast travelled 1,684 km across the US, study finds
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
У США вибухнула ракета Blue Origin: це нагадувало вибух Чорнобильської АЕС | Фото: Live Science
Photograph: Unknown (embedded from source)
What this story says
- The New Glenn rocket exploded on 29 May 2026 during a static-fire test at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- Infrasonic waves from the explosion were detected by stations across the US, travelling up to 1,684 km.
- The explosion's energy was estimated at 0.131 kilotons, comparable to the Chernobyl reactor blast, a study in The Seismic Record reported.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 2 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 4 of the 6 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
62/100
Craft
85/100
Hype
30/100
6 sources · methodology
The New Glenn rocket exploded during a static-fire test on 29 May 2026 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The blast sent debris and a mushroom cloud into the air. No one was injured in the incident, though thousands of local residents reported hearing a loud sound up to 217 km away.
Infrasonic waves, sounds below the range of human hearing, were detected by stations across the United States following the explosion. These waves travelled up to approximately 1,684 km from the launch site. A study published in The Seismic Record used these infrasonic wave data to estimate the explosion's energy.
The study estimated the explosion's energy at roughly 0.131 kilotons. This energy output is comparable to the initial blast that destroyed the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in 1986. Researchers believe infrasound can be a valuable tool for tracking space vehicle accidents or other large explosions globally.
Coverage comparison
Science.focus.ua reported that the New Glenn rocket exploded during a static-fire test on 29 May 2026 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The outlet stated that infrasonic waves from the explosion spread across the US, travelling over 1,600 km. According to the study in The Seismic Record, the explosion's energy was estimated at approximately 0.131 kilotons, comparable to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant reactor blast. The report also noted that the likely cause of the explosion was a faulty oxygen valve in the propulsion system, as reported by Blue Origin in early August. It mentioned that the New Glenn rocket is 98 metres tall and has flown into space three times previously, in January and November 2025, and April 2026.
What the coverage left out
The science.focus.ua report did not mention the specific distance the infrasonic waves travelled, only stating it was over 1,600 km. It also did not specify the exact energy output in kilotons, referring to it as 'approximately 0.131 kilotons'.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 8 times, most recently on 5 Sept 2026, 17:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Both centre outlets led on the detection of low‑frequency sound waves traveling long distances from the New Glenn static‑fire explosion. Phys.org reported that researchers used infrasound signals to confirm time and location; Live Science’s digest noted that the waves reached as far as Texas.
- Phys.org’s report quoted Sandia researchers Elizabeth Silber and Logan Scamfer, describing the yield as about 0.131 kilotons TNT‑equivalent and noting that only a few percent of the fuel’s chemical energy contributed to the blast. The article also referenced the use of infrasound for monitoring other energetic events.
- Live Science’s digest highlighted a comparison between the New Glenn blast and the 1986 Chernobyl reactor explosion, without providing a specific yield figure or quoting any scientist. It did not mention the Sandia researchers, the infrasound network, or the detailed yield calculation found in Phys.org.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover New Glenn rocket exploded during static-fire test?
- Of the 2 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 100% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 6. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is New Glenn rocket exploded during static-fire test left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 2 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of New Glenn rocket exploded during static-fire test biased?
- New Glenn rocket exploded during static-fire test is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered New Glenn rocket exploded during static-fire test?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- When and where did the New Glenn rocket explode?
- The New Glenn rocket exploded during a static-fire test on 29 May 2026 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The incident involved the rocket's lower stage and resulted in debris being thrown into the air.
- How far did the infrasonic waves from the explosion travel?
- Infrasonic waves, which are sounds below the range of human hearing, were detected across the United States. These waves travelled up to approximately 1,684 km from the site of the explosion.
- How powerful was the New Glenn rocket explosion?
- A study published in The Seismic Record estimated the explosion's energy at roughly 0.131 kilotons. This is comparable to the energy released by the initial blast that destroyed the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in 1986.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
2- Blue Origin rocket explosion sent sound waves 1,000 miles across the US, report finds (opens Live Science in a new tab)
Live Science — is Live Science biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Blue Origin's New Glenn explosion shows infrasound can detect rocket accidents from up to 1,700 kilometers away (opens Phys.org in a new tab)
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
4- Infrasound Detection, Geolocation, and Yield Estimate of the May 2026 Blue Origin New Glenn Static‐Fire Explosion (opens geoscienceworld.org in a new tab)
geoscienceworld.org
- As Terrifying as Chernobyl; Blue Origin Rocket Blast Wave Traveled 1,000 Miles Away (opens دیجیاتو in a new tab)
دیجیاتوOpinion
- Blue Origin Rocket Exploded in the United States: It Resembled the Explosion of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
- Blue Origin Explosion Detected and Measured with Infrasound Data | Seismological Society of America (opens seismosoc.org in a new tab)
seismosoc.org
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